Witek M, Skórka P, Sliwińska E B, Nowicki P, Moroń D, Settele J, Woyciechowski M
Insectes Soc. 2011 Aug;58(3):403-411. doi: 10.1007/s00040-011-0156-z. Epub 2011 Mar 12.
Maculinea butterflies are social parasites of Myrmica ants. Methods to study the strength of host ant specificity in the Maculinea-Myrmica association include research on chemical and acoustic mimicry as well as experiments on ant adoption and rearing behaviour of Maculinea larvae. Here we present results of laboratory experiments on adoption, survival, development and integration of M. teleius larvae within the nests of different Myrmica host species, with the objective of quantifying the degree of specialization of this Maculinea species. In the laboratory, a total of 94 nests of four Myrmica species: M. scabrinodis, M. rubra, M.ruginodis and M. rugulosa were used. Nests of M. rubra and M. rugulosa adopted M. teleius larvae more readily and quickly than M. ruginodis colonies. No significant differences were found in the survival rates of M. teleius larvae reared by different ant species. Early larval growth of M. teleius larvae differed slightly among nests of four Myrmica host species. Larvae reared by colonies of M. rugulosa which were the heaviest at the beginning of larval development had the lowest mean larval body mass after 18 weeks compared to those reared by other Myrmica species. None of the M.teleius larvae was carried by M. scabrinodis or M. rubra workers after ant nests were destroyed, which suggests a lack of integration with host colonies. Results indicate that Myrmica species coming from the same site differ in their ability to adopt and rear M. teleius larvae but there was no obvious adaptation of this butterfly species to one of the host ant species. This may explain why, under natural conditions, all four ants can be used as hosts of this butterfly species. Slight advantages of particular Myrmica species as hosts at certain points in butterfly larval development can be explained by the ant species biology and colony structure rather than by specialization of M. teleius.
黄斑蝶是蚁巢小蠹蚁的社会性寄生虫。研究黄斑蝶与蚁巢小蠹蚁之间宿主蚂蚁特异性强度的方法包括对化学和声学拟态的研究，以及关于黄斑蝶幼虫被蚂蚁收养和饲养行为的实验。在此，我们展示了关于泰莱黄斑蝶幼虫在不同蚁巢小蠹蚁宿主物种巢穴中的收养、存活、发育和融入情况的实验室实验结果，目的是量化这种黄斑蝶物种的特化程度。在实验室中，总共使用了四种蚁巢小蠹蚁的94个巢穴：粗纹蚁巢小蠹、红蚁巢小蠹、皱纹蚁巢小蠹和细纹蚁巢小蠹。红蚁巢小蠹和细纹蚁巢小蠹的巢穴比皱纹蚁巢小蠹蚁群更乐意且更快地收养泰莱黄斑蝶幼虫。不同蚂蚁物种饲养的泰莱黄斑蝶幼虫的存活率没有显著差异。泰莱黄斑蝶幼虫的早期生长在四种蚁巢小蠹蚁宿主物种的巢穴之间略有不同。与由其他蚁巢小蠹蚁物种饲养的幼虫相比，由细纹蚁巢小蠹蚁群饲养的幼虫在幼虫发育开始时最重，但在18周后平均幼虫体重最低。蚁巢被破坏后，没有一只泰莱黄斑蝶幼虫被粗纹蚁巢小蠹或红蚁巢小蠹的工蚁携带，这表明它们与宿主蚁群缺乏融合。结果表明，来自同一地点的蚁巢小蠹蚁物种在收养和饲养泰莱黄斑蝶幼虫的能力上存在差异，但这种蝴蝶物种并没有明显适应其中一种宿主蚂蚁物种。这或许可以解释为什么在自然条件下，所有这四种蚂蚁都可以作为这种蝴蝶物种的宿主。特定蚁巢小蠹蚁物种在蝴蝶幼虫发育的某些阶段作为宿主的轻微优势，可以用蚂蚁物种的生物学特性和蚁群结构来解释，而不是泰莱黄斑蝶的特化。
